This invention relates to a process for removing ammonia and/or amine impurities from olefin-containing fluids. In one particular aspect, this invention relates to the removal of ammonia from a feed which contains C.sub.4 monoolefins by means of a sorbent material.
The presence of ammonia or amine impurities in an olefin-containing stream for etherization processes, in particular an isobutene-containing feed stream for a methyl tertiary-butyl (MTBE) process, is detrimental because ammonia and other basic compounds deactivate acidic etherization catalysts, in particular sulfonic acid containing poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) ion-exchange resins. Generally, the monoolefin containing feed stream is "scrubbed" with a suitable acidic solution for the removal of ammonia or gaseous amine impurities. However, the installation and operation of such gas-liquid absorption processes is expensive, and it is desirable to replace them with processes employing guard beds containing solid sorbent materials. In this invention, an effective solid sorbent material removes ammonia and/or amine impurities from a monoolefin-containing stream without losing appreciable amounts of monoolefins by absorption or undesirable reactions (such as oligomerization).